After Joe Montana's comments

I still love the movie because it inspired me (I was in special ed for most of my public school life and most people told me that I would never graduate college and now I have several degrees) and I do get choked up when he makes his sack on the QB and gets carried off (another player has said that it was not a joke, and that Rudy did really want to play bad). Now, with that being said, I knew long before Joe Cool, a four time Super Bowl champion, (who was one of my favorite QBs when I was a kid since I have been a 49ers fan for almost 30 years) decided to make sour grapes of it that many scenes were fictionalized. I remember when he did the interview and never understood what he had to gain by his "newsflash" that most of the story was fictional.

I knew this when I watched it on ESPN Classics and Angelo Pizzo and Bob Golic said many of the things did not happen, but Golic still agreed it was a great film (He would even joke with you that he was carried off the field as well...on a stretcher lol). All biopics take liberties to make the story flow smooth. If screenwriters took true stories at face value, they would be unwatchable. I mean, most people's lives are incredibly boring. I still think it is a great film because there are so many more Daniel "Rudy" Ruettigers out there than Joe Montanas. People who just want that one shining moment and be satisfied with that. Not everyone has the natural, pure talent Montana or other guys that have made it to the NFL have. Rudy may take liberties, but his struggle is still there.

MM

I see a lot of comments regarding the creative license taken with this story, how a lot of people are calling foul because nobody chanted his name or threw their jersey down in protest. Big deal. There have been a lot more liberties taken with a lot more historically significant events for the sake of cinema. What many of you probably are failing to realize is that Rudy is one of the most realistic portrayals of the sport ever captured on film. Movie film, that is. Obviously NFL Films has captured a fair amount. As far as theatrically released films go though, Rudy is far and away the most realistic looking and feeling football movie I've ever seen. First of all, the team feels authentic, it's not the typical movie football team that's woefully small. Most movie "teams" are usually 25-35 players in size and a lot of times they're full of stereotypes. A real college football team can be anywhere between 90 and 130 players in size, so many that it's easy to lose someone in the crowd because the movie stereotypes aren't all that common. I played college football and the team in Rudy feels authentic.
Second, there's a lack of slow motion and a lot of full speed, full impact hitting. Most films overuse slow motion to mask the performers lack of actual football talent, but I gotta tell you, all the scenes of Sean Astin getting pummeled is the most realistic football you'll ever see in a movie. I'm way willing to overlook the rah-rah aspects of this film because the game itself looks genuine.

Joe can say whatever he wants. He's earned it. Who the hell is Dan Ruttiger? He had a fictitious film made about him, so what?

I think Joe was but hurt for two reasons:

1) It wasn't even acknowledged that he was there. Once again his great college career is ignored.

2) He's probably friends with Dan Devine and didn't like how he was portrayed in the movie.

Well this is th HD silliest discussion I've come across in some time!

People are steamed because someone who was actually there... said what actually happened when he was there.

One of the best (ending at least) sports movies....

Your a heathen... and your father smelt of elderberries!
Now go away, or I shall taunt you a 2nd time!!!

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